Early Oregon 



1350 TO 1060 





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COPYRIGHT DEPOSn 




THE AUTHOR 




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JOTTINGS OF PERSONAL 

RECOLLECTIONS OF 

A PIONEER OF 

1850 





By GEORGE E. COLE 



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JUN 21 »y^^ 

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Entered according to Act of Congress 
in the year 1905 

by 

GEO. E. COLE 

in the office of the Librarian of Congress 

at Washington 




65266 



WHOSE COURAGE, ENERGY AND PERSEVERANCE 
MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR OREGON TO 
BECOME AMERICAN STATES 



l^vtfatt 



The contents of this Book, with 
a few alterations, first appeared in 
a series of articles in the Sunday 
Oregonian of 1901. 

This is not a history or a 
chronicle, but the recollections of 
incidents that came under my per- 
sonal observation, which, at this 
time, may be of interest, both to 
the pioneers who are left and to 

the new comers. 

G. E. C. 



CHAPTER I. 

During the month of October, 1850, there were 
fitted out in San Francisco three brigs, suitable for 
carrying passengers, which were advertised for sail- 
ing during that month to the mouth of the Umpqua 
river. No American vessel had ever entered that 
port before. The mines had been discovered in 
northern California, and a company had been or- 
ganized in San Francisco to locate townsites on the 
Umpqua river. The townsite at the mouth of the 
river was called Umpqua City. Up the river at 
the head of navigation was Scottsburg; farther up, 
near the site of the post of the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany, was Elkton, and still farther up, on the trail 
from Oregon to California, was Winchester. This 
route was intended to reach the northern California 
mines. Flaming hand-bills were posted showing the 
advantages of the route and advertising the cities as 
before named. Plats of these new cities were made 
out, and lots were offered for sale at public auction 
at real estate offices in San Francisco. 



EARLY OREGON. 

The names of these three brigs were the Bos- 
tonian, the Kate Heath and the Reindeer. The two 
former having sailed, the brig Reindeer left San 
Francisco on the 24th of October with about seventy 
passengers, part for Umpqua, among whom were 
Bush Wilson, Phillip Ritz and myself; and the rest 
for Portland. Ritz and I had crossed the plains 
together during the preceding summer, and had 
formed Wilson's acquaintance in San Francisco. 
Wilson located in Benton county, and held the of- 
fice of county auditor for about thirty years. He 
died a few years ago. Ritz first located in Benton 
county, and in 1862 removed to Walla Walla coun- 
ty, where he had a big nursery. He was a prominent 
and public spirited citizen. He was an early advo- 
cate of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and made 
several trips to W^ashington, D. C. in the interest of 
that road. He obtained from the company six or 
seven sections of land near where Ritzville is now 
located, and which was named for him. He died in 
Walla Walla a few years since. 

Meeting with adverse winds after passing out of 
the Golden Gate, we were driven far to the south- 
westward, and did not reach our destination until 
the 8th of November. Arriving opposite the mouth 
of the river as nearly as could be ascertained, as 
we had no chart and there was no one on board who 

10 



EARLY OREGON. 

had ever been at the harbor, we fired signal guns, 
and getting no response, started for the entrance. 
Arriving at the bar, we found that the Bostonian 
was a wreck, lying just outside of the channel on 
the north side. Thereupon we lowered anchor, dis- 
covering a ship's boatload of sailors coming down 
to meet us. It proved to be from the Kate Heath, 
commanded by Captain Tichenor, who was at that 
time mate of the Kate Heath. Coming alongside of 
our brig, and running up the ladder, he sang out in 
a shrill voice, ''Weigh anchor and hoist sail, or you 
will go to h — 1 in five minutes." 

We took hold in assisting the crew in getting the 
brig under sail, arriving inside of the harbor in a 
short time, where we anchored in safety. As we 
were anxious to get up to Scottsburg, we three, 
Wilson, Ritz and myself, purchased a small canoe 
from Indians who came aboard, and together with 
a Frenchman named Brobant and a Canadian, whose 
name I do not now recall, got into the canoe, having 
been supplied from the ship with a piece of salt 
"junk" and some hard biscuit, and rowed up the 
river. The tide setting against us, by dark we had 
reached within four or five miles of Scottsburg and 
camped. 

Soon a raft of logs came down the river, having a 
sail and one man on it. We all agreed we would 

11 



EARLY OREGON. 

like to have that sail, as it had commenced raining, 
to protect us from the rain. So Wilson sang out to 
the man on the raft and told him to come ashore 
and stop with us over night. The man replied that 
if we would take his line he would do so. Having 
landed his raft, he proved to be an old acquaintance 
of Wilson's, from the Kennebec river in Maine, so 
there was a very agreeable reunion of the two Maine 
men, in which the others took no particular part, 
but were nearly as glad as they in getting the sail 
as a tent for the night, as it was now raining quite 
hard. 

Early the following morning we got into our ca- 
noe and went up to Scottsburg, which consisted of 
several tents and a log cabin built up to the square. 
Having no more salt ''junk" or hard bread left, we 
applied for a breakfast, but found that no one was 
provided with the means there of getting us one. 
But the lone lady there, whose husband, named 
Fisk, was the proprietor of the cabin, sold us five 
pounds of flour and a pound of butter and loaned 
us the use of her stove, on which we cooked our 
own breakfast. 

As the batteau which was to bring our luggage 
would not be there for several hours, the French- 
man and myself started on foot for Ft. Umpqua, 
leaving the others to look after the baggage when 

12 



EARLY OREGON. 

it arrived. We were not able to reach that point 
before darkness set in, having to cHmb a mountain 
while packing our blankets besides a bundle, so we 
camped for the night. As the woods were inhab- 
ited by large numbers of wild animals, particularly 
bear, the grizzly, the brown and the black bear, 
we kindled a fire and took turns in keeping it alive, 
more for protection against the wild beasts than 
anything else, while the others slept, until day- 
light. 

In the morning we discovered that we were about 
two miles from Ft. Umpqua. A cabin had been 
built at the new city of Elkton. We reached this 
cabin early in the morning, which was Sunday. Hav- 
ing had very little to eat for a long time, we were 
provided with a sumptuous breakfast, consisting of 
the meat of a bear, which had been killed the day 
before, potatoes, which had been brought up from 
the settlement on the Willamet and baked in the 
stove, and very fine biscuits and coffee, all provided 
by Mrs. Wells, the wife of Dr. Wells, who owned 
and lived in the cabin, and who had moved from the 
Willamet that summer. The lady was some time 
preparing the meal, we were very hungry, and as 
our cook was neatly dressed, was young, and to us, 
who had not seen ladies for a long time, seemed 
very beautiful, we patiently waited, dividing our 

13 



EARLY OREGON. 

time between the cook and the breakfast preparing, 
until it was ready for the table, which proved to be 
indeed a very sumptuous meal. 

After breakfast our Frenchman was very anxious 
to get to Ft. Umpqua, having heard there was a 
Frenchman named Garnier in command at the Hud- 
son Bay Company's post. Of course he and our 
Frenchman had volumes to talk, while I sat by, not 
being able to understand a word. Suggesting to 
Brobant that we had better move forward, our host 
insisted that we stay with him over night. To this 
Brobant readily acquiesced, but after partaking of 
a luncheon consisting of tea and hard bread I took 
my blankets on my back and started for the settle- 
ment, some fifteen or twenty miles distant. The 
trail lay up Elk creek, crossing and recrossing the 
same a great number of times. Reaching the out- 
skirts of the settlement about dusk, I found a camp 
there of men who had come up on the Kate Heath, 
and who had been up in the valley and procured ani- 
mals with which they were returning to Scottsburg 
to get their luggage and provisions, intending to 
pack to the new Eldorado in northern California. 

On my inquiring the distance to a house, one man 
with an Irish brogue told me that I must stay with 
them over night, that they had some fine venison 
that they had just killed and plenty of bacon, and 

14 



EARLY OREGON. 

that he would get me up a meal, as they had just 
eaten. Every time he spoke I thought he must be 
an old acquaintance, like our friend Wilson's from 
the Kennebec. Getting in a position where the light 
shone on his face, I tried to decipher his features, 
but could not bring to my memory a recollection of 
them. Finally as he handled the dough in such 
manner as showed that he was probably an old 
camper, I inquired of him what his business was, 
and he said, "I've been a baker all my life." This 
gave me a key to recollection. I said, ''Where are 
you from?" He said, 'I'm from Covington, Ken- 
tucky." I had an acquaintance there by the name of 
Silas Rockwell, with whom I had stopped a week 
in April, '49. I asked him if he knew Silas Rock- 
well. He said, "Yes, I know him well; I've fur- 
nished him bread many a time." Having one night 
at my friend Rockwell's been requested by him to 
go down to the baker's and order some bread, as the 
firemen, who had just succeeded in quenching a fire, 
had come to his restaurant to get a luncheon, telling 
me that I would find where the bakery was and that 
I would find it closed, but to go to the rear end, in 
which the baker lived, rap on the door and call him 
and give him the order and see that it was sent 
immediately, — the inmate replied, "Ay, ay, sir; tell 
Mr. Rockwell I will be there in a minute." This 

15 



EARLY OREGON. 

was the same voice that I now recognized. So, tell- 
ing him I was the young fellow who called him up, 
we soon became boon companions, and on the return 
of his companions, who had been looking after the 
horses, he hastened to tell them he had found an 
"ould acquaintance." 

I remained there until morning. Getting break- 
fast, I started on for the Umpqua valley. In a short 
distance I met a man on horseback with a compass 
and a chain, and in conversation soon found that this 
was Jesse Applegate, who informed me that he was 
out surveying and would be gone for a day and a 
night, that his house was only three or four miles 
from us, and he was very sorry he could not be at 
home to look after and entertain me. But he told 
me to go to the house of Charles Applegate, his 
brother, which I did, and stayed over night. These 
two with their brother Lindsay had emigrated from 
Missouri in a large emigration from that state in 
1843, and located in the VVillamet valley, but the 
year before had removed to the Umpqua valley, this 
portion of it being called Yoncalla, a beautiful spot, 
in which they had selected each a section of land and 
had built improvements. 

There were no grist mills at that time nearer than 
Rickreall, in Polk county, more than one hundred 
miles distant; so, having used up the amount with 

16 



EARLY OREGON. 

which they had provided themselves, they used in- 
stead boiled wheat, which was more palatable than 
one would suppose and answered all purposes of 
bread. 

At this place I found a copy of the New York 
Weekly Tribune, to which the Applegates, being 
Whigs, were subscribers, and which reached them, 
via Panama, San Francisco and Portland, once a 
month. 

I concluded there that I did not want to see any 
more of the Umpqua valley until after I had seen 
the Willamet, and started in the morning retracing 
my steps northward, reaching a man by the name of 
Goodall at Elk creek, the site of the present town 
of Drain, and, learning that some of my comrades 
of the ship had stayed over night there the night 
previous and had pressed on to the Willamet, I dis- 
posed of my blankets to make my pack lighter and 
started on up the Pass Creek trail over the Callia- 
pooia mountains, reaching Martin's, a bachelor, who 
lived in the Siuslaw, at which place I overtook my 
companions, reaching there late at night. 

The next day we started on, reaching at the head 
of the Long Tom, a settler by the name of Mart 
Brown, who had married a daughter of one of the 
four Richardson brothers, three of whom lived far- 
ther down the Long Tom. Two of his wife's broth- 

17 



EARLY OREGON. 

ers, or cousins, were there on a visit to stay over 
night, having with them a vioHn, or, as they called 
it, a fiddle, and we made a jovial night of it by get- 
ting up a dance, in which, there being but one lady, 
the wife of our host, three of our party personated 
ladies by tying a handkerchief on the arm. We had 
a very enjoyable time, dancing for hours on the 
puncheon floor, and I made myself very popular 
with the party by calling the "country dances," 
money musk, Virginia reel, etc. 

These young men were very anxious that we 
should stop at their house the next night. They told 
us we would pass Uncle Ben Richardson's about 
noon and get our dinner, and before sundown reach 
the house of Gideon Richardson. 

The next day we started for Marysville, now Cor- 
vallis. About eight or ten miles below we crossed 
the Long Tom to the west bank on a ferry which 
was operated by "Doc'' Richardson, who was the 
chief of the Richardson family. He took us across 
the stream and cordially invited us to remain with 
him, but we excused ourselves and pushed on, taking 
dinner at Winkle's Butte, and arrived at Marysville 
in the middle of the afternoon. 

The first house belonged to J. C. Avery, the 
proprietor of the town, who also had a little store 
near by. Finding him absent, I went on down to 

18 



EARLY OREGON. 

what was called the lower town, built on the edge 
of a claim of James F. Dickson, at which was a 
log school house, and a store belonging to Hartless 
& St. Clair. 

As I was anxious for information, learning that 
there was a young man by the name of A. G. Hovey 
teaching there, I called on him as soon as school 
hours were over and made his acquaintance. I 
found he was from Ohio and had reached Oregon 
that year overland. I also learned from Hovey that 
a man named Jacob Martin, who lived out about 
six miles in the foot hills, was in town and was go- 
ing out in the morning to his claim, that there was a 
quantity of vacant land in that neighborhood, and 
that there was a school house near him which was 
not as yet provided with a teacher. So, staying over 
night with Dickson, I returned in the morning to 
the store, at which Hovey was a clerk as well, and 
made the acquaintance of Jacob Martin, who was a 
large specimen of humanity from the Monongahela 
river district, in Pennsylvania. 

Uncle Jake, as he was familiarly called, held out 
great inducements for me to accompany him to his 
home, in the forks of the Muddy and Marys rivers. 
Loaded with a large quantity of provisions for the 
family, he struck out with long strides, and I, not 
being able to keep up on the walk, had to make a 

19 



EARLY OREGON. 

trot to keep near enough to him to talk with him. 
We crossed the Marys river, wading it, about three 
miles distant from the town, and passed the house 
of Solomon K. Brown, an old settler, and then 
reached the home of Nicholas Ownby, or Uncle 
Nick, as he was known, who was a principal settler 
in that district. 

Reaching Ownby's about sundown, having re- 
mained in Marysville most of the day, Martin in- 
formed me that it would be good policy for me to 
remain over night with Ownby, who would most 
certainly invite me to do so. He was the most in- 
fluential man in the neighborhood and had a family 
of four or five children that he wished to send to 
school for the winter, and also telling me that if I 
made a good impression upon the old Missourian, 
as he called him, between Ownby and myself I could 
be located on some unclaimed land, which I could 
take up as a donation. 

I found Uncle Nick to be a fine specimen of 
man, about sixty years of age, born and raised 
in Kentucky, having married there and moved to 
Missouri and purchased land on what was known 
as the Platte purchase, and settling down on which, 
he reared his family. In 1845, finding he did not 
have land enough and could not get land cheaply on 
which to locate his children, he fitted out for Ore- 

20 



EARLY OREGON. 

gon. He brought with him the entire family, except 
the oldest boy, who was then married; a fine lot of 
cattle, some blooded horses, also sheep, pigs, chick- 
ens and, of course, dogs and cats, and his entire 
household outfit, except such things as were made of 
wood, which would be cumbersome to carry, and 
could be made by himself and boys in Oregon. 

After learning from me, in answer to questions, 
that I had taught school, and that I was hunting a 
piece of land on which to locate, he said that if I 
would listen to him I could get a piece of good land 
and could get a situation to teach school for the 
winter, commencing at once. 

On the following day, Sunday, we took horses and 
rode up to the log school house, about a mile dis- 
tant, which proved to be on the vacant land referred 
to, and Uncle Nick suggested that that would be 
a good place to stay over night occasionally and 
hold down my claim. A mile farther on we found 
Uncle Jake Martin again. The two men made ar- 
rangements for the campaign of getting up the 
school, and started out over the district settlements, 
the cabins not being closer than a mile of each other. 
A sufficient number of subscribers was obtained, and 
notice was given that school would commence on 
Monday, the next day. Reporting their success, 



21 



EARLY OREGON. 

Uncle Nick and I returned to his cabin. He said 
he had not seen all of them, and had not got all the 
pupils they required, twenty-five, at six dollars each 
for the quarter of thirteen weeks, but whatever it 
lacked in number he would sign additional ones, 
more than his actual number of children, to make 
out the amount. 

So the school commenced at once. In order to 
make up the number, the distance to the homes of 
some of the boys and girls was six or eight miles. 
They all came on horseback, brought their dinners 
in dinner pails, and returned as the school was dis- 
missed at night. Quite a number of the pupils were 
men and women grown, but had never had the benefit 
of a common school education, and of course were 
but beginners. They were very anxious to learn and 
gave me little trouble. 

The only thing which was noticeable was the atti- 
tude of the young men to the girls, for each of them 
having a section of land as a donation claim was, 
under the law, required by the 25th of September 
of the coming year to marry in order to get a patent 
to more than half a section, married men being 
given a section and unmarried men a half section. 
And the law allowed only one year from the time 
the act was passed for the bachelors to marry, so 
that their wives could also hold half a section. 

22 



EARLY OREGON. 



Hence, a good business in the matrimonial line that 
season, and indications that were not unpleasing to 
me were shown in the attitude to each other of the 
marriageable ones of the sexes. 



23 



CHAPTER II. 

On Christmas day "Doc" Richardson, who lived 
outside of the district, about twelve miles from the 
schoolhouse, gave a Thurston Christmas dinner, in 
honor of Samuel R. Thurston, the first delegate to 
Congress from Oregon, who was then in Washing- 
ton, and whom he wished to honor for having 
secured the passage of the donation act, which not 
only allowed the settler a section of land but also to 
take it in such form as he laid out his claim, so that 
it was compact. But it was not required to be in 
legal subdivisions, as the land was unsurveyed, or 
to conform to the cardinal points of the com- 
pass. 

The Richardson relatives as far as Yamhill 
county (Clayton Richardson, a younger brother, 
and his wife and children) came, and as far as the 
head of the Long Tom in the other direction. Mart 
Brown, whose wife, it will be remembered, was a 
daughter of one of the Richardsons, and their col- 
lateral relatives, and other friends were in attend- 
ance at the Christmas dinner. 

24 



EARLY OREGON. 

The dinner was given outdoors, for the day was 
pleasant. The men all sat down to dinner first, and 
the women (the wives and daughters) waited upon 
them until all had eaten before they sat down and 
were served. 

After the dinner was over, dancing commenced 
in the double cabin, the furniture having been re- 
moved. Two sets, one in each cabin, were able to 
form ; and, as my fame had preceded me on my trip 
down through the valley, I was put in requisition at 
once to call off the cotillions, which were formed, 
one in each room, on the puncheon floor. 

Old "Doc" provided himself with two cases of 
whiskey, which he had packed from Brownsville, 
a distance of twenty odd miles. 

This was not a dress occasion as the term is usu- 
ally known or usually applied, but some of the 
dresses were unique indeed. The girls and their 
mothers were neat and clean and, I must say, not 
only healthy but pretty. Old '*Doc," who reminded 
me of an old feudal baron, of course had charge of 
the whole ceremony, and he was dressed in buck- 
skin trousers, moccasins and a blue flannel shirt. 
His long white hair was in great abundance. He 
had waded the streams in his buckskin trousers, and 
they had shrunk to such an extent that they reached 
half way to his knees, his bare legs showing from 

25 



EARLY OREGON. 

there on down to the moccasins. He wore no stock- 
ings. 

When the positions were taken ready for the 
dance, Old ''Doc" came around with a bucket of 
water on one arm, in which there was a gourd, and 
a bottle of whiskey in his hand, and after taking a 
drink from the bottle and water from the gourd he 
passed around to all the dancers, boys and girls 
indiscriminately, and when all had been served he 
sang out to me, "All ready, go ahead." 

After several hours' dancing, the whiskey having 
given out apparently, he lay down in the corner 
of the cabin near the fire, putting his legs over an 
improvised bench, which was made by halving a 
small sapling, in which holes had been bored and 
four legs inserted, which was the usual bench used 
in the cabins in those days, his feet near the fire, 
and was soon snoring. But the dance went on. 
After a while he woke up, and, bidding me let the 
dance go on without me for a while, took me to a 
large fir tree some distance from the cabin^ and, 
pointing to an elevation in the mountains of the 
Coast Range, he asked, ''Do you see that p'int in 
the mountains? Now fifteen steps from here I hid 
a bottle." Stepping off that distance in the wet 
grass, he felt around with his feet, but was unable 
to find it. He went back to the tree again, and 

26 



EARLY OREGON. 

said, pointing to another elevation, "I reckon I 
made a mistake. I reckon it was that p'int." He 
repeated his former performance, with the same re- 
sult, which greatly surprised him. He was equal 
to the emergency, however, and said, 'Til roll for 
it," which he did and found the prize. Taking it to 
a tree, he knocked off the neck of the bottle as 
squarely as if cut with a diamond. I said to him, 
"Why didn't you put that bottle at the foot of the 
tree?" He answered, "I'm too old for that; the 
boys would have found it long ago, and you and I 
would have gone dry." 

Everybody present was given an opportunity, and 
nearly everybody, young and old, took part in the 
dance. I well recollect one person who was there, 
quite a young man. He was teaching the neighbor- 
hood school. He had arrived there about the time I 
did. He was younger than I, though not much, and 
he is now living in an adjoining county, known as 
Judge N. T. Caton, whose acquaintance I have kept 
up ever since. I have frequently been taken for 
him, and he informs me he has frequently been 
called by my name. We had a joke that whenever 
one of us was thus designated the person making 
the mistake was given a dollar, but afterwards con- 
cluded we could not keep it up, as the dollars on 
both sides ran out. 

27 



EARLY OREGON. 

I lived principally with Uncle Nick Ownby. His 
family consisted of his wife, who was a comely wo- 
man, a Kentuckian, somewhat along in years, like 
her husband, but the two people were patterns of 
what married people should do to assist each other, 
particularly in a frontier settlement. He assisted 
her in various ways, and she did not only the house 
work but frequently went out into the garden and 
dug potatoes, onions and turnips and got out a 
head of cabbage for dinner, which in the winter 
season was served in the evening after return from 
school. What struck me as very peculiar was that 
the winter was so mild that, although it rained 
some, but not much until the 20th of March, they 
were able to get their vegetables fresh from the 
garden as they cooked them every day. 

When school closed, I assisted them in running 
out their land claims, as a surveyor general had 
been appointed, who would soon commence survey- 
ing the land, sectionizing it, and it was necessary 
for them to show their lines so that they could make 
their applications for the lands they wished to ob- 
tain. 

On the 20th of March, Judge Irving, who lived in 
Missouri, but who had come in to see the country the 
year before, John Ownby, the oldest boy, Isaac 
Auxier, and myself, loading up three or four packs, 

28 



EARLY OREGON. 

started for the mines in northern Cahfornia. It had 
rained but Httle during the winter. So pleasant in 
fact was the weather that the plowing and the 
seeding had been done in February. But we had 
scarcely started on our journey when it commenced 
to rain, and rained continually until we reached 
Deer creek, where Roseburg now stands. Having 
been poisoned with poison oak, so that I was com- 
pletely blind, the others advised me to return, which 
I did, they going on their journey after Deer creek 
had sufficiently fallen so they could ford it. 

I soon recovered from the poison and was able to 
commence rail hauling from the timber for building 
a fence and also to put me up a little cabin. 

In the whole country everybody was looking for- 
ward to the return of their delegate, Samuel R. 
Thurston, who left New York on steamer by way 
of Panama immediately after adjournment of Con- 
gress. The steamer from San Francisco to Port- 
land in April was expected to bring him, instead of 
which it brought the news of his death, which oc- 
curred aboard steamer after leaving Panama. His 
body was buried at Acupulco, a seaport on the 
western coast of Mexico, and subsequently removed 
to Oregon. General Lane, who was the first gov- 
ernor, having been appointed by James K. Polk, 
had been superseded by the Whig administration in 

29 



EARLY OREGON. 

the appointment of John P. Gaines. Turning his 
office over to his successor, Lane went to CaHfornia 
to mine for gold, but returned to Oregon before the 
news of Thurston's death was received, and we had 
a talk about the propriety of his running against 
Thurston. This was at Marysville. I told him 
how they all felt toward Thurston, and he assured 
me that under such circumstances he would not run. 
But after reaching Oregon City, and the steamer 
arriving bringing the news of Thurston's death, he 
concluded at once to make the race. 

There was no party organization, but of course 
he was known to be a Democrat and ran as such, 
but without nomination by any convention. Some 
were opposed to him because his interests were in 
Oregon City, the former capital, and, feeling that 
he would, if elected, use his influence at Washing- 
ton to effect a relocation of the capital there instead 
of Salem, they brought out Dr. Wilson, a resident 
and the proprietor of Salem, to run against Lane. 
He was also a Democrat. At that time Whigs were 
very scarce in Oregon, and of course there was no 
such thing as a Republican party. 

Lane had made a tour of the country, speaking, 
among other places, at Marysville. But learning 
after leaving Marysville that there was considerable 
opposition to him on account of the location ques- 

30 



EARLY OREGON. 

tion, the same act that located the capital at Salem 
having also located the university at Marysville and 
the penitentiary at Portland, he returned to Marys- 
ville on Sunday before election day, in June, and 
on the morning of the election made a speech to the 
people of Benton county, they all having come in, 
v^ord having been received by them, to hear him. 
At that time voters could vote at any precinct in 
the county. There were four of them besides Marys- 
ville, but no polls were open in any one of them. 

After Lane's speech, A. L. Humphrey, who lived 
in Lane county and was a joint councilman for 
Lane and Benton counties, and J. C. Avery, who 
lived at Marysville and was running for the legis- 
lature, and had been a member of the previous legis- 
lature, were called upon to speak, which they 
did. 

In my neighborhood there lived a family of Ken- 
tuckians, who had emigrated to southwestern Mis- 
souri, and in 1850 had again emigrated to Oregon, 
the father, daughter and five sons, all six feet and 
more in height, all unmarried except the oldest son, 
Ike, who lived in the neighborhood. This family, 
Bailey by name, were looking for a location out 
more on the border, intending to remain in my 
neighborhood until spring, and in the spring look 
up a location farther to the southward. Very few 

31 



EARLY OREGON. 

of the people could read or write, so it was one of 
my duties to do the reading and to a great extent 
the correspondence of the neighborhood. 

Congressmen from Kentucky and Missouri sent 
their speeches to their old neighbors and supporters 
living then in Oregon, and whenever a speech was 
received I was called upon and informed that by the 
next Sunday they would expect me at their places 
to read it for them, and I accommodated them with 
pleasure. Sitting around on the fence about the 
cabin would be a group of fifteen or twenty men 
and sometimes half that number of women, if the 
day was pleasant, while the speech was read. Of 
course I was not at all backward in making as much 
display of my ability as possible, as, being the teach- 
er, I was expected to accomplish the speech with 
honor to myself and the district. 

Ike Bailey was a very remarkable man. Long 
and gaunt, with a chew of tobacco in his mouth, he 
would comment from time to time upon the speech ; 
and so enthused did he become at the end of a 
speech of a Kentuckian by the name of Jones, whom 
he knew when a boy, that he declared that, although 
Jones was a "peart" man, the teacher had read the 
speech better than Jones could speak it, and said that 
the teacher would surely go to Congress. 

On the election day to which reference has been 
32 



EARLY OREGON. 

made, partly perhaps through the influence of Bailey, 
and partly through the friendship and support of 
"Doc" Richardson, I was called upon to get upon 
the platform, which was a farm wagon, and run for 
representative to the legislature, two members of 
which were to be elected. It was conceded that J. 
C. Avery, the present representative, would be re- 
elected. Immediately after this was over they took 
me on their shoulders and carried me into the log 
school house, and polls were declared open. In an 
hour and a half 141 votes of the county were in, and 
it being announced that there were three who were 
not to be present because they could not leave their 
homes, the polls were declared closed, and after 
counting the votes, it was found that Avery and 
myself were elected. 



33 



CHAPTER III. 

Marysville was now an incorporated city and the 
county seat. The long-looked-for donation act had 
passed, and the people were happy. A Fourth of 
July celebration was projected, and most enthusias- 
tically taken up by the citizens, whose numbers had 
greatly increased, many new buildings being in 
course of construction. The settlers of the sur- 
rounding country joined in the festivities. A bul- 
lock was roasted whole, and a great feast was spread. 
The Declaration of Independence was read by A. G. 
Hovey, and the writer delivered the oration. The 
day was very generally observed through th^ valley. 
Some of the older towns, as Champoeg, Oregon 
City and Salem, indicated by the toasts that were 
proposed, the rivalry existing among them. I recall 
that Dr. Newell, an old and prominent citizen of 
Champoeg, gave the folowing: 

** Champoeg for beauty, 
Salem for pride; 
If it hadn't been for salmon, 

Oregon City would have died.'* 

34 



EARLY OREGON. 

But a small area was sown in wheat in this 
part of Oregon at this time. Every farmer 
had a few acres. Ownby having forty acres, 
which was much larger than most of the 
farmers had, as wheat was worth but seventy- 
five cents a bushel, and harvest hands were four 
dollars per day and difficult to obtain at that, 
as many of the men were still in California digging 
gold. Small as the acreage was, much of the wheat 
was left uncut, except what could be cut with one's 
own help. Ownby offered his son John and myself 
half of the crop if we could cut it and thresh it, 
which we undertook to do. There was no harvest- 
ing machinery, except hand cradles, with which a 
man could cut two or three acres a day. Ownby 
furnished us a truck (an improvised wagon), and 
horses, and younger boys to haul the grain to a 
dumping ground in the corner of the field. A cir- 
cular corral was built, and a band of horses were 
driven in and threshed out the grain by tramping 
on it. It was cleaned by carrying it up ten or twelve 
feet onto a raised platform and letting it fall onto 
blankets on the ground, being winnowed by the sea 
breeze, which at this time of the year could be relied 
upon every afternoon. This was quite different 
from the mode in vogue in our day, and I give this 
instance that the reader may learn that farm ma- 

35 



• EARLY OREGON. 

chinery for harvesting and for threshing was un- 
known in those days in Oregon, and, however im- 
portant it is regarded now, was not actually needed. 
The wheat yielded about forty bushels to the acre, 
and we made good wages in the transaction. 

The legislature met on the first Monday of De- 
cember, a decided majority of the members going 
to Salem, the new capital, and holding the session. 
One member of the council, however, from north 
of the Columbia river, and two members of the 
house from that section, joined by two from the 
south side of the river, met at Oregon City, and the 
governor and secretary being there, and the court 
having held that was the proper location, they met 
and adjourned from day to day, and adjourned 
finally. They were provided with stationery and 
other conveniences and paid their per diem, while 
those at Salem were not provided with any place to 
meet nor anything for incidental expenses. The 
citizens of Salem, however, furnished whatever was 
required, giving them the old Methodist Institute 
in which to hold their sessions, 

Samuel Parker, joint senator from Marion and 
Klackimas counties, was made president of the 
council, and seven other councilmen were with him. 
He was a native of Virginia, and had had large 
experience in frontier life in legislative matters, 

36 



EARLY OREGON. 

having been an early settler in the territory of Iowa, 
was a member of the convention which framed the 
constitution for that state, and made a very good 
presiding ofificer. When a point of order was raised 
by any member of the council, he would proceed to 
decide the same by stating that the "cheer are of 
opinion that the p'int of order is well taken," or is 
not well taken, as the case might be. Notwith- 
standing this peculiar wording of his decisions, they 
were generally considered to be right. 

William M. King, a resident of Portland, then in 
Washington county, and a native of St. Lawrence 
county, in northern New York, was speaker of the 
house. He was a good parliamentarian and also a 
man of education, and his language was quite in con- 
trast with that of the president of the council. 

There were other members of both the council and 
the house who afterwards became conspicuous in the 
territory and state of Oregon. M. P. Deady, from 
Yamhill county, was a member of the council. He 
afterwards became United States Judge of the ter- 
ritory, and when the territory became a state, in 
1859, he was made United States District Judge 
for Oregon, and held the office until he died, a few 
years ago. John A. Anderson, a native Kentuckian, 
represented Clapsop county in the house. He was a 
bright and affable young man, and when the civil 

37 



EARLY OREGON. 

war broke out went into the Confederate service. 
Ben Harding, who was afterwards United States 
senator, was clerk of the house. Dr. J. W. Drew 
was there from Umpqua county, now a part of 
Douglas county, and was a very efficient and prom- 
inent member. George L. Curry, from Klackimas 
county, was afterwards- territorial governor. Quite 
a number of others were for a long time prominent 
in various positions in the territory and afterwards 
state. 

Thurston county was formed during this session 
of the legislature. Colonel Mike Simmons, who 
lived at Tumwater, representing the people of that 
locality, wished Olympia made the county seat, 
while J. B. Chapman, a lawyer living at Steilacoom, 
desired that town to be made the county seat. The 
committee on counties sided with Chapman, but 
Simmons, being a popular man, a good mixer 
and an old pioneer at that time, succeeded in win- 
ning the fight. The next legislature formed Pierce 
county and made Steilacoom its county seat. 

I went to this legislature with the firm determina- 
tion to do all the good in my power for the territory, 
but, contrary to my expectations, while there were 
some others who felt the same way, perhaps the 
majority of the legislature, the control passed large- 
ly into the hands of members who were there for 

38 



EARLY OREGON. 

the purpose of promoting their individual interests. 
They had ferry charters to look after for themselves 
and their friends, and county seats to locate, and 
one had a wagon road project across the Cascade 
mountains, and they combined and assisted each 
other in what was called "log rolling," forming a 
very formidable party, which some of us designated 
as the ''local interest" party. 

Asahel Bush, the publisher of the Oregon States- 
man, located at Oregon City, moved a printing of- 
fice to Salem and did the printing for the legisla- 
ture, leaving his paper at Oregon City, the former 
capital, until the location question should be finally 
settled. His paper was the mouthpiece of the legis- 
lature, which Governor Gaines and the other federal 
officials designated as revolutionary. The Oregon- 
ian, published and edited by Thomas J. Dryer at 
Portland, was the organ of the federal officials, be- 
ing a Whig paper. The war of words between these 
two organs was bitter and quite acrimonious. 

Judge Pratt, the Democrat member of the supreme 
court, came by invitation to Salem and read to the 
legislature a dissenting opinion, which, he being a 
learned man, was calculated to strengthen the posi- 
tion of the members at Salem in their acting in con- 
tempt of the decision of the supreme court. A mem- 
orial to Congress, setting forth our position in the 

39 



EARLY OREGON. 

matter and asking the action of Congress, was pass- 
ed, and, it being supported by our delegate. General 
Lane, an act of Congress was passed confirming the 
location of the capital at Salem. 

The hotel accommodations were very limited at 
Salem, and members of the legislature had to secure 
places to stop at private houses. John Anderson 
and myself were very fortunate in securing a room 
jointly and board at the home of Dr. Belt, father of 
Judge George W. Belt. We were probably more 
readily received and accommodated because of the 
fact that Dr. Belt was a native Kentuckian, as was 
also my associate, Anderson. 

On the following June, 1852, the issue on which 
the people were divided was for and against the 
actions of the two legislatures, in which the voters 
sustained the so-called revolutionary party, after 
Congress had affirmed the act of the legislature, and 
the governor and secretary and the judges of the 
supreme court moved their offices to Salem. Gov- 
ernor Gaines issued a proclamation convening the 
legislature in August, for the purpose, as he said, 
of enacting laws at the now proper place, claiming 
that those passed before the action of Congress in 
the matter were invalid. The legislature met at 
Salem, and after three days session adjourned sine 



40 



EARLY OREGON. 

die, affirming that no legislation was necessary until 
the regular session in December. 

At this special session M. P. Deady was elected 
president of the council, and Ben Harding speaker 
of the house, and when the December session con- 
vened they continued in those positions respect- 
ively. 

While the Democrats were in a decided majority, 
Whigs having been elected from Washington coun- 
ty, and Democrats who had sustained the governor, 
from Klackimas county, in which was located Ore- 
gon City, there was passed a resolution in the Dem- 
ocratic caucus setting forth that, ''Whereas, the 
legislature had been convened by order of one John 
P. Gaines," a minority of the Democrats dissented 
from the wording, although agreeing to what fol- 
lowed in the resolution, and it failed to pass until 
in place of the phrase ''one John P. Gaines" there 
was substituted "His Excellency, John P. Gaines," 
and in that shape it passed. 

Having come in from the mines in Jackson county 
to attend the special session, and having returned 
there in the interests that I was pursuing in that 
locality, I again came back to the Willamet valley, 
arriving at Salem on the first day of the regular 
session commencing in December. 

Colonel I. N. Ebey, from Island county, on the 

41 



EARLY OREGON. 

north side of the Columbia river, and F. A. Cheno- 
weth, from Clarke county, desired to pass a mem- 
orial to Congress for the division of the territory. 
Accordingly a committee of three was appointed, 
consisting of those two, being the entire number of 
members from the north side of the Columbia river, 
and myself, from the south side. A memorial was 
drawn up and passed in accordance with the desires 
of the people on the north side of the Columbia river 
as represented by them, making the present boun- 
dary line between Oregon and Washington the di- 
viding line between the two territories, and asking 
that the new territory be called Columbia. General 
Lane, favoring the petition, succeeded in getting 
through Congress an act granting the prayer of the 
memorialists in all except the name, which was 
changed to Washington. 

Pierce having been elected president, Democrats 
were appointed to fill the various offices in the terri- 
tory of Oregon, among whom was George H. Wil- 
liams, supreme court judge, who, having previously 
been on the bench in Iowa, was a man of experience 
and ability. He was afterwards United States sen- 
ator from Oregon and also attorney general under 
President Grant. General Lane was again commis- 
sioned as governor, but he decided instead of ac- 
cepting, to run again for delegate, and so, keeping, 

42 



EARLY OREGON. 

it is said, his commission in his pocket, without dis- 
closing it to the pubHc, he was elected delegate in 
June, 1853. George L. Curry was appointed sec- 
retary of the territory of Oregon, J. W. Davis of 
Indiana was appointed governor, and General Joel 
Palmer was appointed superintendent of Indian 
affairs. 

Among the best known characters of Oregon 
whom I met at Salem during the session of the su- 
preme court was United States Marshal Joe Meek, 
an early settler of Oregon. When Polk was Presi- 
dent he went to Washington and did good service 
in securing the passage of the act organizing the 
territorial government. He was a tall, fine-looking 
man as one would meet in many a long day, and 
as there were many anecdotes connected with his 
name, he excited in me much interest. He was a 
cousin of President Polk, from whom he received 
his appointment as marshal, and he told me many 
interesting stories of his trip to Washington, and 
his visits to ''Cousin Jeems" in the White House. 
He said that he arrived at Willard's Hotel in a 
buckskin suit and moccasins, and asked the clerk 
for accommodations. When he was handed a pen 
with which to register he pretended not to be able 
to write, and asked the clerk to register for him, 
saying : 

43 



EARLY OREGON. 

"I am Joseph L. Meek, Minister Plenipotentiary 
and Envoy Extraordinary from all Oregon to the 
United States of America." 

At the first session of the court Meek had no 
funds, and jurors and witnesses coming to subse- 
quent terms were clamorous for their fees, but he 
was compelled to put them off. Hearing that he 
had received some $15,000, they called his attention 
to the fact, and demanded their money. He replied, 
^'Oh, that is 'bar'ly' enough for the officers." 

He was fond of entertaining the judges, lawyers 
and visitors from the east with stories of" years gone 
by when Oregon was in its infancy. He said that 
he came to Oregon when Mt. Hood was a hole in 
the ground. He delighted to tell jokes on himself. 
He said he once took a party of volunteers out in 
the Burnt river country, in eastern Oregon, to 
portect incoming immigrants, and that his soldiers 
suddenly met a body of Indians. They had just 
crossed a river, but they decided to cross back again, 
and they did so without any orders. His mount 
was a bucking mule that would budge for neither 
whip nor spur, and in consequence he was left alone 
while his comrades were making off down the river 
for a ford. He called out to them lustily, ''Come 
back and fight the Indians, there's not more than a 
dozen of 'em. We can whip 'em," but they pro- 

44 



EARLY OREGON. 

ceeded to ^o up the opposite river bank in full re- 
treat. Suddenly an arrow struck his mule, which 
forthwith plunged down the river bank, forded the 
stream, and struck the trail far ahead of his com- 
panions, who were looking back to find him. Shout- 
ing, ''Come on, boys, you can't whip them; there's 
more than a thousand of them," he led the way to 
the rear. 

He was as brave a man as ever lived, but like all 
successful Indian fighters, he was wary and cau- 
tious. The boys apologized for having left him, 
but he had to tell them that it was his mule and not 
he who made the stand, pleading with them not to 
inform on him when he reached the valley. 

The summer of 1852 brought a large immigra- 
tion into the territory. The winter following was 
very severe. The raising of wheat had been neglect- 
ed since the discovery of gold in California, farm 
hands being impossible to find, even at high wages. 
Wheat became so scarce that flour was imported 
from Chile, and sold at $16 a cwt., while seed wheat 
brought $4 or $5 a bushel. 



45 



CHAPTER IV. 

Soon after the adjournment of the legislature I 
went out to Jackson county, and was told many 
hard-times tales of the hard winter now happily 
over. Provisions of all kinds had been scarce. To 
obtain flour was out of the question. Snow covered 
the ground everywhere. Salt and salt meats there 
was none. "Venison straight," as they termed it, 
only was plentiful. The crust on the snow would 
bear up a man, but the sharp feet of the deer would 
cut through it, impeding their progress to such an 
extent that they could not escape their pursuers, and 
were overtaken and killed by footmen with axes. 
This condition was fortunate for the miners, as they 
had no ammunition with which to shoot them, and 
venison without salt or bread or bacon or beans was 
in most instances their only food for several weeks. 
Just as I arrived at Jacksonville one mule load of 
salt arrived. It came from Scottsburg, most of the 
way through snow, a path being broken by the 
owner. Dr. Fisk, the mule following behind. Before 
reaching town Dan Kinney, partner of the Jackson- 

46 



EARLY OREGON. 

ville house of Kinney & Appier, rode out of town 
and bought the load, at $8 per pound. There be- 
ing 250 pounds of it, the packer was well paid for 
his hard trip of 150 or more miles. Hearing of this, 
the miners and citizens of Jacksonville held a meet- 
ing and passed a resolution, in other words a law, 
"regulating" the price of salt. It was decided that 
the merchant should be requested to sell this salt, in 
quantities of not more than one pound to each per- 
son, and at a price not exceeding one ounce of gold 
($16) per pound. It is needless to say that no ap- 
peal from this action was taken. The men stood in 
line as at a postoffice, and handed their dust to one 
of the partners to be weighed, and the other partner 
weighed out the salt and handed it to the purchaser. 
In many instances three or four persons would club 
together, and as soon as the salt was obtained they 
would reach out their hands for a portion of it and 
eat it as a child would sugar. Persons who have 
never tried a diet without salt, and not having any 
kind of food containing it, could hardly realize the 
situation of these people. Tobacco was very scarce 
for a time, yet the price of it was only $14 per 
pound. 

Early in May I returned to Marysville. Mean- 
time General Lane had been nominated by the 
Democrats for Congress and A. A. Skinner, at that 

47 



EARLY OREGON. 

time Indian Agent to the Rogue river Indians, had 
been brought out by petition to run against him. 
That canvass was not pohtical, but personal and sec- 
tional, as carried on by many of the supporters of 
each candidate. The principals, however, main- 
tained throughout the campaign a gentlemanly bear- 
ing toward each other, and the amenities of civilized 
people were not ignored. I am tempted to write of 
the asperities of this contest, and of the continuance 
of this style for years, but I forbear. Elsewhere in 
other states any coarse vituperative expression ap- 
pearing in public print was referred to as the ''Ore- 
gon style," which phrase, happily for the good name 
of Oregon, has long since been discarded and passed 
out of use as a distinctive appellation of Oregon 
journalism. Lane was elected, having received 
about 1600 majority out of a total of about 7500. 

On the morning of the first Sunday in June, 1853, 
Major James A. Lupton and myself, while on our 
way to Jacksonville, via the Table Rock trail, lead- 
ing over the mountains from Umpqua valley, with 
a drove of hogs which we were taking to the Rogue 
river valley to feed on camas, the feed for hogs 
at that season of the year — we were also looking for 
a place to cut hay — and having camped the night be- 
fore on Trail creek, a tributary of Rogue river, 
rode into an Indian ambush on the north side of the 

48 



EARLY OREGON. 

river, a short distance above Thompson's Ferry. 
We had taken a trail leading to the river about two 
or three miles above the ferry, instead of the right 
one leading direct to it. On entering a clump of wil- 
lows on the river's bank we found ourselves con- 
fronted by a band of about 40 Indians in war paint, 
armed in part with guns and pistols, others having 
bows and arrows, which in close quarters are more 
effective weapons in a fight than the guns used at 
that time. 

Major Lupton, as he was generally called, was not 
an army officer, but came to Oregon in 1849 ^s 
wagon master for the rifle regiment. He was at 
that time engaged in the business of packing. We 
were partners, and a more honorable, upright and 
energetic man it has never been my fortune to know. 
He was brave to rashness. He was just ahead of 
me on the trail, and as he halted I noticed he reached 
for his pistol in the holster of his saddle. I spurred 
my horse to his side, and putting my hand on his 
arm told him not to shoot, immediately addressing 
the chief, who was standing in front of us a few 
paces off, in Chinook, asking him what was the 
matter, and how far it was to the ferry. This, of 
course, after saying to him, ''How do you do?" 

To none of these inquiries did he reply, but stood 
sullen and motionless. Lupton still held his revolver 

49 



EARLY OREGON. 

in hand, ready for action, but not raising it, awaiting 
the outcome of my talk with the chief, who proved 
to be "Cutface Jack," chief of a wild band of upper 
Rogue river Indians. Knowing enough of Indians 
to feel certain that they were lying in wait for a 
larger party than two persons, and having heard that 
a raid was contemplated by a company of white 
men to their country to rescue a white won;an who 
was supposed to be held a prisoner among them, I 
immediately decided that the proper thing to do was 
to assume that it was that party, not us, they de- 
sired to intercept. 

I kept close watch of the chief as he proceeded to 
question me in turn, knowing it was of the utmost 
importance to understand every word he uttered, as 
well as to make him understand me, which was a 
task not easily performed, as neither of us were pro- 
ficient linguists in the Chinook jargon. He asked 
who we were, what we wanted, and where we were 
going. I told him we were from the Willamet val- 
ley, had come across the mountains the day before, 
and had camped for the night a few miles back, giv- 
ing him the exact spot, which I divined that he well 
knew, as I did not think that we could approach so 
near a party of hostile Indians without their knowl- 
edge. He was satisfied with my answers, and im- 
mediately came forward and gave me his hand to 

50 



EARLY OREGON. 

shake. He did not offer it to the Major, as he 
regarded me as chief, for I had done the talking. 
This was well, as the Major told me afterwards 
that he would have refused it, as he expected at any 
moment to have use for his right hand in handling 
his pistol. Upon a sign made by the chief, the war- 
riors all disappeared into the bushes, and we passed 
on to the ferry without further molestation. 

My companion, irritated by the occurrence, pro- 
posed going back and taking a few shots at them, 
as he said, just to teach them better than to inter- 
fere with white men. When we arrived at the ferry, 
Thompson informed us that ''Cutface Jack" and his 
party were looking for a company of volunteers un- 
der Captain Lamerick, who a couple of days before 
had captured four of their party, and while holding 
them prisoners as hostages for the release of the sup- 
posed white woman, who was believed to be held a 
prisoner by their tribe, two of them in trying to 
escape in the night had been shot and killed, the 
other two escaping to the Indian camp with the 
news. ''Cutface Jack" had rallied his band of war- 
riors and was on the warpath, and he was trying to 
intercept Lamerick's party on their return from their 
trip up the river. Instead of this, he informed us, 
they had returned to Jacksonville by a more south- 



51 



EARLY OREGON. 

erly route, and thus had eluded the ambush of "Cut- 
face Jack" which we fell into. 

We arranged with Thompson to send a man with 
some trusty Indians back to move our camp to his 
ferry. As he had a squaw for a wife, and was on 
good terms with the Indians we felt that the camp 
would be safe under his care. 

The next day was election day, Jacksonville poll- 
ing a very large vote. I had cut and stacked a 
lot of hay and built a cabin across Bear creek from 
Jacksonville, about 12 miles distant, in what was 
conceded to be exclusively Indian country, as no set- 
tlers had located across the creek in that vicinity. 
Lupton had gone on the plains to buy cattle from the 
immigrants, and after I had completed the prepara- 
tions he desired me to make, I started on horseback 
for Marysville, on what was to me most important 
business, seeing the person who later became the 
partner of my life. 

On arriving at Patrick's ranch, some eight or nine 
miles north of Jacksonville, I found him gathering 
up his horses to start for the Willamet valley, as he 
had just heard that Thomas Wills, a merchant of 
Jacksonville, had been killed by the Indians, and as 
he intended going soon after supplies, he thought it 
prudent to go at once. After feeding my horse and 



52 



EARLY OREGON. 

eating dinner, we started and made Rock creek, then 
Dr. Rose's ranch, at night. 

Early the following morning we started on, and 
arriving at Grave creek, found the people ''forted 
up." They urged us to remain, saying that the In- 
dians were uneasy, and had done some stealing, and 
they feared trouble. We, however, were deaf to 
their entreaties, and moving rapidly on to the cross- 
ing of Cow creek, some lo miles distant, we found 
the cabin on the north side of the creek burned 
down, and discovered parts of the bodies of two 
men still burning in the ashes. We pushed on up 
the creek about four miles, and found the people 
*'forted up" as at Grave creek. We were again 
urged to stop and remain with them. 

Making camp and cooking a meal, we seriously 
considered the situation. Large numbers of Indians 
were on the hills to the left of our road, yelling and 
howling like demons, and loudly calling out, and 
daring the whites to come up and fight them, gen- 
erally talking Chinook, but some of them using 
broken English. We were but a short distance from 
Hardy Elliffs' at the south end of the canyon. Fear- 
ing the loss of his horses if we remained, Patrick 
was anxious to go on. I was equally, perhaps more, 
anxious than he. We started about sundown. I 
was mounted on a strong, spirited horse, and, tak- 

53 



EARLY OREGON.' 

ing the bell from the bell mare, put it on him, and 
started ahead. Patrick, mounting his fastest horse, 
brought up the rear. On seeing us start the Indians 
started in the same direction we were going, expect- 
ing, no doubt, that they would be able to head us off 
by the time we reached the divide in the canyon, 
which was about three miles distant from the south 
end. Many of the Indians were on foot, some were 
mounted on ponies, but we were confident that we 
could beat them to the divide, as our path was free 
from brush and good, while theirs was through the 
brush. We made as fast time as good, strong horses 
could carry us, the loose horses following closely 
after the bell. 

On reaching the summit we felt sure that we had 
beaten them, but, as it was dark in the timber, were 
not certain. Going down the steep and tortuous 
trail to the bed of the creek, in which now lay our 
way, we followed it for two miles. It was walled in 
by perpendicular bluffs on both sides. The ride was 
a rough one, as the creek was filled with boulders, 
many of them of considerable size. I called out to 
Patrick, and he answered, "All right." At this mo- 
ment the Indians had arrived at the summit and set 
up a hair-lifting yell of rage and disappointment. 
We lost no time, but pushed on at full speed, and 
emerged from the creek. The road there crosses it 

54 



EARLY OREGON. 

68 times, the crossings being usually made on a walk, 
but we slackened not our pace, and came out at the 
north end of the canyon (Canyonville) and warned 
the settlers, who until now knew nothing of the out- 
break. They hastily ''forted up" and put out a 
strong guard up the canyon. 

Shortly after reaching Marysville, the news came 
of a general outbreak. The first man through after 
us brought news of the killing of John R. Hardin, 
Dr. Rose and others. Hardin and Rose we knew 
well, and had seen them just before, having said 
good-bye to Hardin at Patrick's ranch, and having 
stopped with Rose our first night out. Before reach- 
ing Roseburg, I met James Kyle, a partner of Wills, 
with his pack train of goods from Scottsburg. 
Learning of his partner's death, he at once gave 
orders to his train men where to camp with the train 
and remain until further orders. He immediately 
started for Jacksonville, but was shot and killed by 
an Indian in ambush on Rogue river, about 20 miles 
before reaching his destination. 

I borrowed a good rifle of B. R. Biddle, and, hav- 
ing supplied myself with ammunition, retraced my 
steps toward the scene of hostilities, packing one 
horse lightly and riding another. On arriving at 
Myrtle creek, three or four well armed young men 
accompanied me. We arrived at Grave creek the first 

55 



EARLY OREGON. 

night the news that an armistice with the Indians had 
been made reached there. The next day I went on 
to headquarters at Thompson's Ferry, and reported 
to General Lane, who at the time of my arrival was 
lying down with his arm in a sling, having received 
a wound in his right shoulder during the battle at 
Evans creek with Indians. 

As there were rumors among the volunteers that 
some of them were not standing by the armistice 
they had agreed to with the Indians, General Lane 
requested me to go among the camps and see what 
I could learn. Many new companies had arrived 
since the battle of Evans creek, and they, having had 
no part in it, were ^'spoiling for a fight" and chaffed 
those who were in the fight for agreeing to an 
armistice, and declaring they would not abide by the 
agreement. This sentiment seemed to predominate. 
I reported to General Lane the information I had 
gathered. He called the volunteers together and 
gave them a strong talk, couched in the plainest En- 
glish. He told them that the armistice had been 
agreed to on the part of the volunteers by their 
united vote, distinctly stating that he had exercised 
no influence in bringing about the decision, but that 
he would see that it was carried out in good faith, 
and that if others deserted him, he knew that his 
own, Douglas county company, and the regulars — 

56 



EARLY OREGON. 

Captain A. J. Smith with his dragoons — would 
stand by him, and that all honest men among all the 
companies would be found arrayed on his side. 

There never was a mutinous set of soldiers so 
completely silenced and squelched. The sight of that 
gray-haired commander, with one arm in a sling, 
still painful from the wound of a bullet, with 
courage, not only sufficient to fight a savage foe, 
but also sufficient to meet boldly and resolutely an 
attempt to sully the character of his own command, 
w'as an inspiring spectacle. 

Supposing that my cabin and haystacks were 
burned, and the hogs that were left there to feed 
upon the Indian camas had been killed or run off, 
as there had been destruction of property all over 
the valley, I was greatly surprised on being accosted 
by the little chief near my camp, who informed me 
that I would find everything safe. Thereupon I 
rode on to the camp, a distance of about eight miles, 
and found the Indian's information was correct. I 
returned to headquarters, and, as there were grave 
doubts whether or not a treaty would be made with 
the Indians, I asked General Lane's advice. He 
told me to move the stock. I thereupon did so. A 
treaty was made and peace prevailed until 1865, 
when a general outbreak occurred. 

A description of what occurred at the making of 
57 



EARLY OREGON. 

the treaty is given by Senator Nesmith, then Cap- 
tain Nesmith, as follows: 

''Early in the morning of the loth of September, 
1853, we mounted our horses and set out for the 
Indian encampment. Our party consisted of the 
folowing named persons : General Joseph Lane, 
Joel Palmer, Superintendent of Indian Affairs; 
Samuel H. Culver, Indian Agent; Captain A. J. 
Smith, First Dragoons; Captain L. F. Mosher, 
Adjutant; Colonel John E. Ross, Captain J. W. 
Nesmith, Lieutenant A. V. Kautz, R. B. Metcalf, J. 
D. Mason and T. T. Tierney. After riding a couple 
of miles across the level valley, we came to the foot 
of the mountain, where it was too steep for horses 
to ascend. We dismounted and hitched our horses, 
and scrambled up for half a mile over huge rocks 
and through brush, when we found ourselves in the 
Indian stronghold, just under the perpendicular 
cliff of Table Rock, surrounded by seven hundred 
fierce and hostile savages, arrayed in all their 
gorgeous war paint and feathers. 

"Captain Smith had drawn out his company of 
dragoons and left them in line on the plain below. 
It was a bright, beautiful morning, and the Rogue 
river valley lay like a panorama at our feet. The 
exact line of dragoons, sitting statue-like upon their 
horses, with their white belts and burnished scab- 

58 



EARLY OREGON. 

bards and carbines, looked like they were engraven 
upon a picture, while a few paces in our rear the 
huge, perpendicular wall of Table Rock towered 
frowningly many hundred feet above us. 

'The business of the treaty commenced at once. 
Long speeches were made by General Lane and 
Superintendent Palmer, which had to be translated 
twice. When an Lidian spoke the Rogue river 
tongue it was translated by an Indian interpreter 
into Chinook, or jargon, to me, when I translated 
it into English. When Lane or Palmer spoke the 
process was reversed, I giving the speech to the 
interpreter in Chinook, and he translating it to the 
Indians in their own tongue. This double transla- 
tion of long speeches made the labor tedious, and it 
was not until late in the afternoon that the treaty 
was completed and signed. 

"In the meantime an episode occurred which 
came near terminating the treaty, as well as the 
representation of one of the 'high contracting' par- 
ties, in a sudden and tragic manner. About the 
middle of the afternoon a young Indian came run- 
ning into camp stark naked, with the perspiration 
streaming from every pore. He made a brief 
harangue and threw himself upon the ground ap- 
parently exhausted. His speech had created a great 
tumult among his tribe. General Lane told me to 

59 



EARLY OREGON. 

inquire of the Indian interpreter the cause of the 
commotion. The Indian responded that a company 
of white men down on Applegate creek, under com- 
mand of Captain Owens, had that morning captured 
an Indian known as Jim Taylor, tied him to a tree 
and shot him to death. The hubbub and confusion 
among the Indians at once became intense, and mui - 
der glared from each savage visage. The Indian 
interpreter told me that the Indians were threat- 
ening to tie us up to trees and serve us as Owens* 
men had served Jim Taylor. I saw some Indians 
gathering up lasso ropes, while others drew the skin 
covers from their guns and the wiping sticks from 
the muzzles. There appeared to be a strong proba- 
bility of our party being subjected to a sudden vol- 
ley. I explained as briefly as I could what the in- 
terpreter had communicated to me; and, in order to 
keep our people from huddling together and thus 
making a better target for the savages, I used a 
few English words not likely to be understood by 
the Indian interpreter, such as 'disperse' and *segre- 
gate.' In fact, we kept so close to the savages and 
separated from one another, that any general firing 
must have been nearly as fatal to the Indians as to 
the whites. While I admit I thought my time had 
come, and hurriedly thought of wife and childrenj 
I noticed nothing but coolness among my compan- 

60 



EARLY OREGON. 

ions. General Lane sat on a log with his arm band- 
aged in a sling, the lines about his mouth rigidly 
compressing his lips, while his eyes flashed fire. He 
asked brief questions and gave me sententious an- 
swers to what little the Indians said to us. Cap- 
tain A. J. Smith, who was prematurely gray haired, 
and was affected with a nervous snapping of the 
eyes, leaned upon his cavalry saber and looked anx- 
iously dowai upon his well-formed line of dragoons 
in the valley below. His eyes snapped more vigor- 
ously than usual, while muttered words escaped 
from under the old dragoon's white mustache that 
did not sound like prayers. His squadron looked 
beautiful, but alas ! they could render us no service. 
I sat down on a log close to old Chief Joe, and hav- 
ing a sharp hunting knife under my undershirt, kept 
one hand near its handle, determined that there 
would be one Indian made 'good' about the time the 
firing commenced. 

''In a few moments General Lane stood up and 
commenced to speak slowly, but very distinctly. He 
said : 'Owens, who has violated the armistice and 
has killed Jim Taylor, is a bad man. He is not one 
of my soldiers. When I catch him he shall be pun- 
ished. I promised in good faith to come into your 
camp with ten other unarmed men to secure peace. 
Myself and men are placed in your power. I do 

61 



EARLY OREGON. 

not believe that you are such cowardly dogs as to 
take advantage of our unarmed condition. I know 
that you have the power to murder us, and can do 
so as quickly as you please, but what good will our 
blood do you? Our murder will exasperate our 
friends, and your tribe will be hunted from the face 
of the earth. Let us proceed with the treaty, and, 
in place of war, have a lasting peace.' Much more 
was said in this strain by the General, all rather de- 
fiant, but nothing of a begging character. The ex- 
citement gradually subsided after Lane had prom- 
ised to give a fair compensation for the defunct Jim 
Taylor, in shirts and blankets. 

"As General Lane and party rode back across the 
valley, we looked up and saw the rays of the setting 
sun gilding the summit of Table Rock. I drew 
a long breath and remarked to the old General that 
the next time he wanted to go unarmed into a hos- 
tile camp he must hunt up some one besides myself 
to act as interpreter. With a benignant smile he 
responded, 'God bless you, luck is better than 
science.' " 

Lupton came in from the plains with a lot of 
stock and was surprised to find even the ar- 
rangements at the camp were not disturbed. Half 
a dozen pack covers, half a dozen lash ropes, a 
hatchet and some nails were taken, but were brought 

62 



EARLY OREGON. 

back by order of little Chief John. When locating 
on the place I made a treaty with this Indian, pay- 
ing him for the use of the land from which to cut 
hay and for the stock to range, naming specifically 
that the hogs were to have right to camas and 
acorns. The hay was hauled to Jacksonville the 
following summer and sold, as the winter was mild 
and it was not needed for the stock. 

Lupton later became sole owner of this property, 
and, after living there two years, was killed by the 
Indians in a battle at the mouth of Butte creek. He 
was leading a company of volunteers, and while 
charging in the brush was pierced through the body 
by an arrow from an Indian bow. The Indian 
was lying on his back and sprang his bow with his 
feet — a very effectual way, as great force can thus 
be given to the bow to speed the arrow. 

At the treaty the facts about the white woman 
were ascertained from the Indians, which were as 
follows: During a war between the Rogue river 
and Umpqua tribes the latter had captured some 
prisoners. Among them was a young squaw, whom 
the Umpquas sold to one Ben Allen, a white man, 
who was a courier riding between the Hudson Bay 
posts of Vancouver and Umpqua. He made her 
his wife, and took her to Vancouver. While mak- 
ing a trip through the Rogue river valley with this 

63 



EARLY OREGON. 

squaw and her child she, finding herself in her na- 
tive country, escaped to her people and remained 
with them, so that, instead of there being a white 
woman and half-breed child, the fact was that it was 
an Indian woman and a half-breed child, living 
among her own people. Several raids had been 
projected for the purpose of rescuing a white wo- 
man, held prisoner among the Indians, one of whom, 
it was said, compelled her to become his wife and 
slave. Much valorous talk had, from time to time, 
been indulged in by the young white braves. Many 
other myths were explained, and a better under- 
standing was had between the red and white 
races. 

A true history of the difficulties would disclose 
the fact that most of them could have been avoided. 
The first knowledge Indians obtain of white men 
with whom they come in contact is not calculated 
to inspire them with much respect for, or confidence 
in, the white race. Better people, bringing families 
with them, came among them later, but the Indian 
judgment is made up, and it is hard to eradicate 
their first impressions. They change the statement 
that "all men are liars" by inserting the word white, 
but further acquaintance causes them to qualify this 
view, so as to admit that some white men tell the 
truth, and when they find such an one they trust him 

64 



EARLY OREGON. 

implicitly, and will take his word for any amount. 
In contrast \\\i\\ our management of Indians, in- 
stance the success of the Hudson Bay Company's 



65 



CHAPTER V. 

In the autumn of 1854, while on a business trip 
to southern Oregon, I was overtaken by ex- Judge 
Pratt, on his way to Jacksonville to get acquainted 
with the people, as he intended to become a candi- 
date before the Democratic convention to be held in 
the following spring to nominate a delegate to 
Congress. As I was for Lane and knew pretty 
well how he stood in the estimation of the people 
in the southern counties, I ventured to suggest to 
him that he would encounter much opposition in 
that section. He, however, nothing daunted, be- 
lieved that he could readily overcome it. He was 
a man of rare qualities, a good lawyer and a learned 
judge. He was very proud and dignified, a fine 
talker and a very entertaining man. He was read- 
ily the peer of the foremost men of the territory, and 
by many regarded the superior of all. We stopped 
at the Robinson House, kept at that time by its pro- 
prietor. Dr. Robinson, who was a Whig. He treat- 
ed his guests with great courtesy and much con- 

66 



EARLY OREGON. 

sideration, as his name was well known and he had 
been much in evidence in the papers of that day. 

I left the judge with the host, with the request 
that he introduce him to persons who might come 
into the hotel, which he promised to do, and I went 
out to see some people on business. On returning 
to the hotel later, I found the judge busily en- 
gaged in "making his canvass." He stood before 
the bar, a thing he was never known to do before in 
Oregon. He was arrayed in a faultless suit, includ- 
ing a silk hat and a high shirt collar. In the par- 
lance of the times, he wore a ''stove-pipe hat" and 
a ''biled shirt with a stake-and-ridered collar." His 
boon companions were miners in their rough garb, 
ranged along the bar on both sides of him. The 
judge was a good talker, and he was giving them 
the best he had for the occasion, and they were list- 
ening with apparent interest. As soon as they 
caught his drift, however, they looked at each other 
knowingly, as they were ardent admirers of Gen- 
eral Lane, having met him during the Indian war 
of the year previous. One tall miner reached down 
to his boot, drew out a long knife and took the silk 
hat off the judge's head, saying, "This stove-pipe 
is too high by a j'int." Suiting the action to the 
word, he slashed it into two parts, and slapping the 
parts together, put it back on the judge's head. 

67 



EARLY OREGON. 

Pratt took this all in good part, and set up the 
drinks, which at this juncture was the only thing in 
order. 

Pratt had long, curly hair, black and glossy. The 
miner's next performance was to cut off a lock, say- 
ing as he did so that it was the ''puttiest ha'r he had 
ever seed," that he must have just one lock for a 
keepsake, and that he hoped no offense to him, as he 
loved him. With that he threw his arms around 
the judge and gave him a good hug. With a won- 
derful exhibition of good nature and tact, Pratt took 
it all pleasantly. This somewhat nonplused the 
miner, and if he had any further designs upon his 
victim he evidently abandoned them, as he remark- 
ed, on putting away his knife, that he would not 
take off the top rail of his "stake-and-ridered" 
collar. 

They bade each other good-night, and parted, 
apparently the best of friends. The next morning 
I complimented the judge upon his successful en- 
trance upon his canvass, and he seemed to be very 
well satisfied with the outcome of it. He had seen 
much of the world, but this was the first time he had 
seen this corner of it. He went over to Sterling 
the next day and then returned to the Willamet 
valley. 



68 



EARLY OREGON. 

He regarded himself as the leader of the Salem 
capital party, and it was generaly conceded that 
without the aid he rendered in writing and reading 
his legal opinion before the legislature, its members 
might have gone to Oregon City and joined those 
there, and thus Salem would not have secured the 
capital. 

Dryer, in the Oregonian, called those who ad- 
hered to Pratt's opinions '^Durhamites," as it was 
told of Pratt that he bought a lot of scrub cattle of 
a man by the name of Durham and sold them at 
a fancy price for Durham cattle, claiming that they 
were of that stock. So all who shared his opinions 
were ''Durhamites." His friends, however, claimed 
that the term "Durham cattle" was given to this 
band of cattle to distinguish them from other cattle 
he owned, and not for the purpose of deceiving. 
Pratt confidently expected the support of his former 
friends, and was very wroth when they deserted 
him. Many of them had supported Deady against 
Lane in 1853, and he could not see why he should 
not receive their support, and in addition that of 
numbers of others, on account of his well-known 
ability, which none disputed. 

But several things had happened since 1853. The 
capital had, by act of the legislature, been removed 
to Corvallis. The Durhamites, now called the Salem 

69 



EARLY OREGON. 

Clique, were making a fight to render the removal 
abortive. The Treasury Department refused to 
pay any expenses incurred, or to be incurred, on ac- 
count of that removal, and the Salem Clique could 
not, if it so desired, afford to break with Lane. Be- 
sides, Lane was so strongly entrenched that any 
effort in that line would have resulted in failure. 
Wisely, they concluded to support Lane, as they 
preferred a ''sure winner" to an uncertainty, al- 
though in the person of a former idol. 

The steamer arrived at Portland two days before 
the convention assembled at Salem, bringing Lane, 
and the day preceding the convention he and the 
delegates from the northern counties of the terri- 
tory were on board of the steamboat Canemah, on 
their way to Salem. I was at the time captain, 
George Jerome was mate, George A. Pease, pilot; 
Theodore Wygant , purser ; Sebastian Miller and 
William Cassedy, engineers; and Joseph Buchtel, 
steward. I mention these names particularly in this 
connection because these men, I believe, are at this 
time all alive and in fair health, except Jerome, who 
died several years ago, and Theodore W^ygant, who 
died recently. A remarkable thing, I think, when 
we reflect that they were all experienced men in 
their respective positions at that time, except myself, 
who was a novice in steamboating. We were late 

70 



EARLY OREGON. 

in leaving Oregon City that morning, as we had to 
wait for the arrival of the boat from Portland, hav- 
ing on board General Lane and many of our pas- 
sengers. Some miles out from our starting point, 
while running under a full head of steam, a woman 
on the bank hailed us. The pilot asked me if I 
wanted to land for her. I replied, ''Certainly," sup- 
posing she wanted to take passage with us, as we 
usually took all passengers we found along the 
river, but under the circumstances would not have 
made a landing for a man, unless he was a delegate 
to the convention. Upon approaching the bank she, 
holding out a letter, said she wanted us to take it to 
her sister in Salem. The mate was indignant and 
ordered the plank pulled in. I said, ''Mate, take 
the lady's letter," in a tone all could hear. Upon 
hearing this she sang out, "Thank you, Captain; I 
know you are a gentleman." I took off my hat, 
and, bowing to her, said it would be one of the 
greatest pleasures of my life to comply with her 
request. The passengers thought it a good joke 
on the captain, thinking that I must feel chagrined 
at the incident, but Lane came to my assistance. 
Stepping forward in true military style and salut- 
ing me, he said that he had traveled up and down 
the Mississippi river a great many times, and that 
this was the most gallant act that he had ever had 

71 



EARLY OREGON. 

the honor to witness. So the tables were turned in 
my favor. But as a matter of fact, it was annoying, 
and in case of a man would have called for a thump- 
ing. I did not credit myself with having performed 
a very meritorious act, for had I known her object 
in stopping us I would not have ordered the land- 
ing. But I was ''up against it," and did the only 
thing to do under the circumstances. 

Dr. McLoughlin, who a few years previous was 
chief factor of the Hudson Bay Company, now 
owner of a flouring mill at Oregon City, was the 
principal purchaser of the wheat grown along the 
Willamet river and shipped from points between 
Salem and Oregon City, mostly raised on French 
Prairie. Besides turning the wheat over to the mill, 
he required me to report to him in person on the 
evening of my arrival, which was at least twice a 
week. 

Allen & McKinlay kept the old Hudson Bay 
store, with which Dr. McLoughlin was connected. 
On the evening of my first arrival with wheat, at 
eight o'clock, I went to the store, and McKinlay ac- 
companied me to the doctor's home across the street. 
After politely receiving us, he turned a goblet one- 
third full of Jamaica rum, into another one-half that 
quantity, and into another one-half of that, then 
filling the glasses with two parts water to one of 

72 



EARLY OREGON. 

rum, he handed the smallest quantity to me, the next 
to McKinlay, the largest he appropriated himself. 
We all slowly sipped it. 

During the conversation which followed, he in- 
quired about the different shippers along the river, 
who were mostly Frenchmen and half-breeds, and 
gave me verbal orders, as none others would have 
done, to give them about further shipments. 

The second time I reported to him the rum and 
water was repeated. On the way to the store, after 
our call, I asked McKinlay for an explanation of 
the doctor's partiality with the drinks. McKinlay, 
a jolly Scotchman, laughed and said, ''Well, Cap- 
tain, he dealt that rum out medicinally and not for 
sociability. Being a man of ripe years, he took the 
most himself, me, being next in age, the second 
sized dose, and you, being the youngest, the smallest 
dose. That's his way, but come over to the store 
and we will have a social drink." Which we did, 
sitting around the stove, that rainy winter night, 
spinning yarns until a late hour, 

Pratt was defeated in convention. He felt very 
sore over it, and soon after left Oregon and per- 
manently located in San Francisco, where he was 
several times elected judge, served in that capacity 
with honor to himself, and wore his stove-pipe hat 
in peace. 

73 



EARLY OREGON. 

Ex-Governor Gaines was nominated by the 
Whigs, but Lane was for the third time elected, 
after the most exciting campaign Oregon had yet 
had. 

The legislature had removed the capital to Cor- 
vallis and adjourned to meet there in December, 
1855. Now came another fight over the capital 
question. The Treasury Department at Washing- 
ton decided that no money could be paid out on ac- 
count of such removal, and that the capitol building 
at Salem was entitled to the funds appropriated for 
its construction, which was as yet incomplete. Mem- 
bers of the legislature elected in 1855 were con- 
siderably at sea as to their duty, but concluded to 
meet at the place of adjournment, Corvallis, and 
there determine the question as to whether they 
would remain there or adjourn to Salem, or (in 
other words) proceed to relocate the seat of gov- 
ernment. A bill was introduced to provide for the 
relocation, but the adherents of Corvallis put up a 
strong fight to defeat the removal. Nat Lane, a 
son of General Lane, was much interested in Cor- 
vallis. He had his home there, and was engaged in 
the mercantile business, and when accosted for aid 
in bringing an influence to bear upon the legislature, 
declared that he could most certainly control one 
vote, and that he would guarantee to do so; they 

74 



EARLY OREGON. 

could put him down for that. He said that old man 
Hutson, from Douglas county, he knew would vote 
as he asked him to, if he could see him when he 
first arrived. He did not assert that he could do 
this on his own account, although he and Hutson 
were on very friendly terms, but said that he relied 
upon the strong attachment existing between Hut- 
son and his father, w^hom, he averred, the old man 
almost worshiped, and would do anything to please 
him. All he would have to do, he said, would be 
to talk to him, and show him that all his property 
interests were in Corvallis, and the love borne for 
the father would induce him to vote to promote the 
interests of the son. So a lookout was kept on the 
incoming member from Douglas, and upon his ar- 
rival a meeting occurred at Nat's store, where sev- 
eral of us came by invitation, to meet his friend. 
Nat was most happy on the occasion, and opened 
the ball by telling the member from Douglas how 
much his father thought of him, how much it would 
please his father if he should learn of any favor be- 
stowed upon any of the family, and telling him that 
his own interests were now at stake in the projected 
relocation and adjournment to Salem. The old man 
replied that he would do anything in the world for 
him on account of the old ''Gineral," saying that 



75 



EARLY OREGON. 

he did not want to come to the legislature, or hold 
any office, but the old "Gineral" had told him he 
must come, and to please him he ran, and was 
elected. He said that before the old "Gineral" went 
to Washington he got on his horse and rode over to 
see him, and ask his advice, how to act and how to 
vote when he went to the legislature, saying that he 
had always had his advice about matters^ and now, 
with this most important matter on hand, he, the 
"Gineral," was going off to Washington, and he 
would be lost, and not know what to do. He 
said : 

''You know, Nat, I believe in the old 'Gineral' ; I 
paid close attention to what his words war, and he 
told me that he was sorry that he had to go and 
leave me in that way, but it couldn't be 'holped' ; that 
I must do what I thought was right, and if anything 
came up on which side I didn't know how to vote 
to go and ask Bush, as he was a very safe man. So, 
Nat, I'll go and hunt up Bush and come back and 
let you know." 

This was a knock-out blow for Nat, as Bush was 
the man, of all others, he did not want this member 
to meet, as he was considered the most active leader 
of the Salem forces. 

''Salem Clique" had been substituted for "Dur- 
hamites" by Dryer of the Oregonian, as before 

76 



EARLY OREGON. 

stated, when referring to the controlUng element of 
the Democratic party, which was all-powerful at 
this time. The ''Salem Clique" won in this second 
capital fight. 

As the Indian war in Eastern Washington was 
in progress at this time, the Indians near The 
Dalles, on the north side of the river, had com- 
menced hostilities and had run off the settlers, in- 
cluding E. S. Joslyn, who was caring for a lot of 
cattle for me at White Salmon. I learned from him 
at Portland that they were now across the Simcoe 
mountains, which were covered with deep snow, 
so that it would be comparatively safe for us to go 
and look after the stock, and, if possible, move them 
to the south side of the river, which was considered 
safer from Indian attacks. I accordingly joined 
him at Portland, and we landed from the steamer 
Mary at White Salmon on Christmas eve. The 
weather turned very cold, a Cayuse or East wind 
prevailing. The Mary returned to the Cascades 
the next day, but the river froze and no more trips 
were made for a long time. We gathered up the 
cattle, and finding that they could not stand up on 
the slippery ice, we hauled on sand and made a trail 
across the river, but as soon as it was completed 
there came a strong Chinook or West wind and de- 



77 



EARLY OREGON. 

stroyed the ice so quickly that we had to abandon 
the undertaking, and barely had time to get to the 
south side of the river ourselves. I came on down 
to the Cascades, and made arrangements to have a 
scow taken up by the first steamer, when the river 
should be clear of ice. The scow was procured, and 
26 head of cows I had sold to Jenkins & Benson, 
and a few head I had let Joslyn have, were crossed, 
but mine were left, and were run off by the Indians 
the following 6th day of March. 

I stopped over night with Colonel Ruckle, and 
as I could not cross the river on account of drifting 
ice, so as to take the trail on the north side, I took 
the south side. On the start my trip was hazardous, 
as I had to climb for some distance along the bluffs 
until I reached the house of a Mr. Levins, at which 
point a fishery was afterwards established. It took 
me a whole day to make this distance. The next 
morning I started out to make Sandy river, and to 
cross it, as there was no house on the east side of 
the river, which was occupied. I was told that I 
would reach Sandy at the delta, and could 
cross it where it was divided into two streams, and 
that no one lived near enough to come to my assist- 
ance, but that I could ford the stream easily. But 
I took a trail striking the stream higher up, where 
it was all together, i. e., about the delta, but, not 

78 



EARLY OREGON. 

knowing it, I waded into the stream and soon got 
into deep swift water, which I could not ford. On 
returning to the shore I discovered a canoe lying in 
the brush on the opposite bank. I sang out lustily, 
and was immediately answered, and kept on calling 
as I made rapid strides for the shore. A man came 
running rapidly, got into the canoe and poled with 
great haste to me, while I lost no time in donning 
my outside apparel, although it was soaking with 
cold water. The wind was blowing a gale down 
stream, and much thin ice, just forming, covered 
the water. I jumped into the canoe, but upon reach- 
ing the other shore I was so stiff with the cold that 
I was able to get out of the canoe only with the as- 
sistance of my rescuer. He then took hold of me 
and, making me go with all possible speed, took me 
to his cabin, in which there was a good bright fire. 
It was the home of Mr. Buxton and family. Giving 
me a warm suit of woolen underwear and a strong 
decoction of "hot stuff," containing cayenne pepper. 
No. 6, and perhaps other ingredients, and a cup of 
strong coffee, I was made sufficiently comfortable 
to eat my share of a good, well-cooked meal. I re- 
mained with them over night. Mr. Buxton pro- 
vided me with a saddle horse to ride to Portland, 
but it was found that I was so nearly paralyzed 



79 



EARLY OREGON. 

that I could not mount even with the assistance of 
Mr. Buxton and another man. So a yoke of steers 
was hitched to a cart, in which was put a lot of 
straw, and an all day trip brought me to the east bank 
of the Willamet river. I paid the man who brought 
me, but neither Mr. Buxton nor his wife could be 
persuaded to take any pay for the great service they 
had rendered me. I have frequently thought of 
them, and of their kindness to a stranger, and felt 
that the world was much better for their having 
been here. At Mr. Buxton's I first learned of the 
burning of the capitol building at Salem, which 
occurred on the last day of the year, and 
I deeply regretted it, as it was said to have 
been the work of an incendiary, and, as a res- 
ident of Corvallis, I feared censure might turn 
toward her citizens. After returning to my home, 
I for a long time sought to ascertain if there were 
any reasons to believe that one of her people would 
have been likely to do such a thing, but was glad 
to learn that such suspicion was attached to none 
of her citizens, though the incident at this juncture 
was unfortunate. It was several days before I re- 
covered sufficiently from the effects of this trip so 
that I could walk without a cane, or canes, as I was 
compelled to use two of them, and with such aid 
could walk only on an even surface. For years I 

80 



EARLY OREGON. 

felt the effects of this exposure, but after the lapse 
of 49 years, all indications of it have disap- 
peared. 



81 



CHAPTER VI. 

The removal of the capital again to Salem did 
not seriously affect the prosperity of Corvallis. The 
Statesman, of course, went with it, which might 
have had some effect upon the reputation of the 
town abroad, but, as it was never in sympathy with 
the people of Corvallis, its loss was not a cause of 
regret to them. 

The year of 1856 was an exciting one for Oregon 
and Washington. In addition to the war east of 
the mountains, and at the Cascades, and through 
the Sound country, war had again broken out in 
August, 1855, in southern Oregon, and extended by 
the end of the year from the Canyon to California, 
reaching westward to the ocean. Hostilities ap- 
peared simultaneously at far distant points, indicat- 
ing a general uprising of all the tribes of a vast re- 
gion of country, leaving only the Willamet valley 
entirely free from attack, as some parts of the 
Umpqua valley were not unmolested. Many of the 
counties were called upon to send companies of vol- 

82 



EARLY OREGON. 

unteers to the seat of war in the south. A reg-iment 
for the south was raised in the southern counties 
of the Willamet and the Umpqua valleys. At that 
time the county of Umpqua comprised what is now 
the northern part of Douglas county, the dividing 
line being at Calapooia creek. John Kelsey, of Ben- 
ton county, was made Colonel, and W. W. Chap- 
man, then of Umpqua county, Lieutenant Colonel. 
Corvallis was headquarters, having established there 
quartermaster and commissary offices in charge of 
assistants appointed by the head office at Salem. 

Numerous supplies were purchased, not only gen- 
eral supplies for the troops, but individual volun- 
teers were permitted to go into the stores under an 
arrangement with the quartermaster and get all 
kinds of clothing. The prices charged were usually 
about double the cash selling price, as it was under- 
stood that it would probably be a long time before 
payment would be made. It was another case of 
greenbacks, but a quartermaster's voucher instead 
of the greenback. The question was not, as later in 
the Civil War, 'Svhen will the war be over and the 
government able to redeem?" but "will the gov- 
ernment ever pay?" When peace came, and the 
horses, mules and cattle on hand were ordered sold 
at public auction under notice to purchasers that 
persons holding vouchers could turn them in at par 

83 



EARLY OREGON. 

for their purchases, there were numerous bidders 
and prices ranged high. Cattle that were worth 
for cash $ioo per yoke were sold as high as $250 
per yoke, and afterwards, when the amounts allow- 
ed by the government were paid in cash, it was 
found that those who held their scrip fared about 
as well as those who sold, so that no injustice was 
done by the transaction. 

The government decided to remove all the south- 
ern Indians to reservations, selected for the purpose, 
between the coast range of mountains and the ocean. 
Accordingly they were brought in and located on 
the Siletz reservation, in the western part of Ben- 
ton, now Lincoln county, and the Grande Ronde 
reservation, lying to the north of Siletz, and the 
cause of further Indian wars removed, as after years 
of bitter experience it was found that a war of ex- 
termination would have been carried on for years 
if whites and Indians occupied the same territory. A 
large number of whites had lost their lives, either 
in war or by massacres in times of peace, and the 
Indians claimed that they were safer during a state 
of open war than at intervals of alleged peace. 
When Chief John was asked at the council why he 
went to war he replied, 'To save the lives of my 
people," saying that he 'lost more of his people in 
one year of peace than two years of war." The 

84 



EARLY OREGON. 

fact is the peace treaties were not fully observed on 
either side. They were doubtless made in good 
faith and controlled most of the whites and Indians, 
while there were some of both races who, in such a 
country, could not be held in check, and it was 
found necessary to separate the races and plant the 
military in such positions as to be easily reached by 
the agents in charge, so as to prevent the first at- 
tempt at outlawry on either side. 

It was also found that an Indian agent had to 
possess qualities suited for the purpose. He had to 
have coolness and brains, and sufficient character to 
command the respect of the Indians, and the mili- 
tary had to be vigilant and see that white men were 
kept off the reservations. 

In the year 1857 Captain Auger built Fort Hos- 
kins, 14 miles west of Corvallis. Lieutenant Phil 
Sheridan was his quartermaster and commissary, 
who frequently came to Corvallis in pursuance of 
his duties. The supplies for the camp were shipped 
from Portland by boat to Corvallis. Sheridan made 
me agent to receive and care for them. Accordingly 
when he came for them he stopped at my store, 
frequently remaining over night. He never would 
accept the offer of a bed, but preferred to sleep in 
the store on blankets spread on the counter. Later, 



85 



EARLY OREGON. 

however, I had it on the best authority that he be- 
came thoroughly cured of that camp Hfe habit. Gen- 
eral and Mrs. Sheridan years afterwards came to 
Portland and were given a reception by the Progress 
Club and many citizens had an opportunity of being 
presented to him and his accomplished wife. 

In 1857 another paper was established at Cor- 
vallis, more in sympathy with the active sponsors 
of the town, and called the Occidental Messenger. 
L. P. Hall, from California, took charge as editor. 
It came out boldly for slavery in Oregon, and also 
advocated it as a vital principle of politics. It held 
slavery to be a cardinal Democratic principle in 
theory, as well as for the well-being of Oregon as an 
institution. A new line of thought was sprung upon 
the public, and as Republicans were few in numbers 
at that time, it addressed itself with emphasis to the 
Democratic party, and demanded a solution. A ma- 
jority of Democrats denied the claim made by the 
propagandists, and declared that neither slavery nor 
anti-slavery was a Democratic principle, and that 
each individual was free to vote according to his 
views, either for or against slavery, without affect- 
ing his standing in his party, and so resolved in their 
convention of 1857. At the election of that year 
Lane was again chosen delegate to Congress over 
George W. Lawson, an independent candidate. The 

86 



EARLY OREGON. 

delegates to the convention were elected at the same 
time the vote on the call for the convention was 
taken, which was decided by a majority of about 
6000 out of less than 10,000 votes cast. 

The convention met August 18, 1857. It was in 
session one month, and framed a constitution to be 
voted upon on the second Monday in November of 
that year. The boundary of the state conformed to 
that of the territory, except that portion of Idaho 
east of Oregon, which was struck off, and an effort 
was made to include that portion of Washington ly- 
ing south of the Snake river, now forming Walla 
Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, but 
Governor Stevens, at this time the delegate to Con- 
gress from Washington, vigorously opposed it, so 
that the permission of Congress was not obtained. 
The eastern part of Oregon cut off was made a part 
of Washington territory. 

The questions of slavery and the admission of 
free negroes were to be decided by separate clauses. 
From the adjournment of the convention until the 
election much discussion was had upon the slavery 
clause. The Occidental Messenger warmly advo- 
cated the adoption of the slavery clause. The 
Statesman admitted articles from both sides, re- 
quiring correspondents to sign their names to their 
contributions in order to receive publication. 

87 



EARLY OREGON. 

There were several arguments made through the 
press, but the most noticeable one I recall was from 
the pen of Judge George H. Williams, on the free 
state side of the question, which was considered at 
that time by the free state people as unanswerable, 
and gained him a great many friends; but later it 
proved somewhat in his way when a candidate be- 
fore the legislature for the senate, as his anti-slavery 
views were objectionable to those favoring slavery. 
The slavery clause was defeated by a vote of more 
than three to one, and the free negro clause was de- 
feated by a vote of about ten to one. 

Among all the leaders of the Democratic party I 
can now recall but two prominent ones who were for 
slavery — Nesmith, Grover, Harding, Bush, Delazon 
Smith, in addition to Williams, and numbers of 
others, all being free state men. In 1858 Grover 
was elected to the House of Representatives, and 
Lane and Smith were elected Senators. As the state 
was not admitted until February 14, 1859, Oregon's 
first representative to Congress served only 17 days, 
and one of its Senators, Smith, the same length of 
time, while Lane's term was two years and 17 days. 
A special session was called by the Governor to con- 
vene in May to elect a Senator in place of Smith, 
whose term had expired, but it adjourned without 



88 



EARLY OREGON. 

effecting an election, and thus was inaugurated a 
precedent that has been followed with much per- 
sistency since. 

Owing to the divisions among Democrats, their 
candidate for Congress in 1859, Lansing Stout, was 
elected by a very narrow margin, and in the follow- 
ing year George K. Sheil was elected by a small ma- 
jority. In both cases David Logan was the unsuc- 
cessful candidate. 

Li the year 1858 I moved to Portland, and in the 
year i860 took some little part in politics there. 
Owing to the warring factions, it was evident that 
Democrats could hope to win only by uniting on 
some fair basis of co-operation. Judge Williams 
and A. C. Gibbs had moved there also about that 
time, and as Williams' views represented the views 
of those Democrats who voted for a free state, it 
was desired by them to elect him as one of the Sena- 
tors at the next meeting of the legislature, and an 
effort was made to make up a ticket so as to include 
him as one of the Senators. 

Accordingly, Mr. Gibbs was put on the ticket 
for one of the members of the legislature, and Ben- 
jamin Stark, who favored Lane, was the other 
nominee, and thus both factions were represented 
and the ticket was elected. 

Before the legislature convened, however, the 
89 



EARLY OREGON. 

split at Charleston came, and two Democratic elec- 
toral tickets were in the field, and no further union 
of Democrats was possible. The legislature met, 
and while the Democrats had a decided majority, 
the factions could not be reconciled. Instead of this 
a coalition was made between the Douglas Demo- 
crats and the Republicans which resulted in the 
election of J. W. Nesmith for the long term and 
Colonel E. D. Baker for the short term. Nesmith 
was an old pioneer, had been an active member of 
the provisional government, had been superintend- 
ent of Indian affairs under the territorial govern- 
ment, and a Colonel during the Indian wars, and 
was a prominent Douglas Democrat ; besides he had 
a personal following among the Republicans. Baker 
had come up from San Francisco in the spring and 
stumped the state for Logan for Congress. He 
was thoroughly well equipped for the position and 
was thought not to be very radical in politics, so 
that it was easier to make this combination than any 
other. He was a good stump speaker. It was told 
of him that, while making a speech at the court- 
house in Lafayette, an ardent Democrat, possessing 
a very dark skin for a white man, after listening to 
Baker for some time, interrupted him and asked 
him if he was a black Republican. All Republicans 
were black Republicans in those days in the estima- 

90 



EARLY OREGON. 

tion of dyed-in-the-wool Democrats, with the accent 
on the black, as pronounced by them. Baker was a 
very white man, both his face and full head of hair 
being very white. His questioner was standing on a 
seat, so as to be plainly seen over the heads of the 
audience. 

Baker looked over the audience at him and re- 
plied : ''Since you have called up the question of 
color, and we both are in full view of this audience, 
I am willing to leave it for the audience to decide 
which of us is the blacker man of the two." His 
friends pulled the ciuestioner down and hid him from 
sight instantly, and the entire audience, Democrats 
as well as Republicans, joined in uproarious laugh- 
ter. While he was always polite and affable to an 
interrupter, it was found that it was a good thing 
to let Colonel Baker alone while speaking. Delazon 
Smith canvassed the state for Breckinridge and 
made a very strong fight. There was no one who 
could make a more forcible speech. He had an ex- 
cellent voice, and was a finished orator, and pos- 
sessed the faculty of stirring up his audience to the 
highest pitch, and there are many persons now liv- 
ing in Oregon who will tell you that they have never 
heard his equal in the political arena. He died soon 
after the close of the campaign, mourned by many, 



91 



EARLY OREGON. 

even those who did not endorse his poHtics. An 
attempt of an eulogy to Baker would be superfluous, 
as we all know how he fell, at the head of his com- 
mand at Ball's Bluff, on the Potomac, soon after 
taking his seat in the senate, in a manner honorable 
to himself and serviceable to his country. 

In September, i860, I moved my stock of goods 
from Portland to Walla Walla, and on the Satur- 
day before the election in November returned to 
Portland to vote for Douglas, well knowing he had 
not a ghost of a show for an election. Many of his 
supporters, not wishing to lose their votes, as they 
termed it, and it being evident that the vote of Ore- 
gon would go to Lincoln or Breckinridge, dropped 
Douglas and voted for their preference as between 
the other candidates, and so Oregon cast her elec- 
toral votes for Lincoln, who led Breckinridge by 
a few votes. 

As it is not the purpose of the writer to give a 
history of Oregon, but only the personal recollec- 
tions that it is thought may be of interest to others, 
he has purposely left out much of interest that tran- 
spired outside of his observations; in fact, much 
that belongs to the general history of the country. 
These recollections are confined to the locality of 
the writer at the time, but all to Oregon, that is, old 



92 



EARLY OREGON. 

Oregon — the Oregon to which he came in the year 
1850. It then embraced all the country between 
California and British Columbia, and the Rocky 
Mountains and the Pacific ocean, and contained 
13,294 white people, according to the United States 
census of 1850, principally confined to the Willamet 
valley, and many times that number of Indians. 
That Oregon now embraces Oregon, Washington, 
Idaho, and a very important part of Montana, all 
that portion lying west of the Rocky Mountains, in 
which is situated the most important mining camp 
on the globe, Butte, Montana, having a pay roll much 
larger than any other mining town, and also quite 
an area of southwestern Wyoming. It has an ag- 
gregate population of about one and one-half mill- 
ion of people, and possesses, in view of its already 
ascertained resources, sufficient wealth for an em- 
pire as large as the one over which Kaiser William 
proudly reigns. Fifty years shows an increase of 
more than a hundred fold in population, and many 
times that in productive wealth. What then will an- 
other 50 years accomplish? 

Men are living today in the strength of manhood 
who will live to see an empire in population and 
wealth embraced in the limits of the Oregon to 
which I came. Men here speak of the state of 



EARLY OREGON. 

Washington as quite a different country, and Idaho 
and Montana as quite distant states, but to the old 
pioneer, and especially to me, they are all one — all 
parts of the old Oregon to which my heart is at- 
tached. New people from the East are heard speak- 
ing of Oregon somewhat sneeringly, as if they were 
an entirely different people. Let them be reminded 
that they are a part of one people, that they are joint 
inheritors of what was won by those hardy pioneers, 
who crossed the desert plains and scaled the rugged 
mountains, and thereby established the right of 
America to the rich heritage which they now enjoy, 
and which forms an integral and an important part 
of this great and glorious country of ours. 

In this connection I wish to say that, in my judg- 
ment, no territory of the United States was ever 
settled by a people so well adapted to endure and 
overcome the hardships that beset the people of 
Oregon. And if those who came later, and those 
who are native to the soil of these states do as well 
their part as the pioneers did theirs, it will be well 
for the states that compose the Oregon which the 
pioneers established. 

Here is all honor to the pioneers ! I am proud to 
be known as one of them, and have only pity for 
those who, coming in palace cars years later, there- 



94 



EARLY OREGON. 

fore think they are for that reason superior to the 
pioneers who crossed the plains with ox teams, eat- 
ing their ''peck of dirt" perhaps many times over. 

THE END. 



95 



JUN 21 1905 



